When reading the news this weekend I came across something pretty cool. I wasn’t even looking for fish-related news, but I couldn’t resist. What I found was something called ‘Fishackathon.’ Here is the website, and here is the release from the US Department of State announcing what it is, and how Fishackathon is held. So what the…
Category: Fishery Science Profession
Giving back: a fisheries biologist’s mission
by Aaron Cushing, guest blogger Fisheries biologists love fish. It’s that simple. We all work long days in the summer sun to improve fisheries resources in lakes and streams across the world. In freshwater, we electrofish after dark to sample as many fish as possible to get the best data, often going to bed when…
NOAA Stock Status Update: Good News
Last week NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) reported its annual Status of Stocks, a document that provides an update on the overfished and overfishing status of many US fish population. (See a summary here.) Overfishing is defined as the catch rate being too high to sustain a population of fish, while overfished refers…
ResearchGate: a love/hate relationship
by Brandon Peoples As someone who writes a science blog, I’m a de facto supporter of using social media to promote scientific research. Most folks know about Facebook and Twitter, and many scientists use LinkedIn to connect with one another. But a growing number of us use another social media platform—ResearchGate—that fills a unique niche in…
The Prolific Life of Barton Evermann
Anyone who’s studied fisheries science will have seen the name “Barton Evermann.” He was a full-fledged member of the gilded age of American ichthyology and created a greater good working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ancestral U.S. Fish Commission. Barton Evermann was born in Iowa in 1853, and came of age on an…
Winter: the forgotten study season
As researchers, we’ve built sampling regimes that ignore an entire season because winter is harsh and unforgiving.
Q-n-A: Marine Fisheries Observer
Bycatch from commercial fishing vessels is a major fisheries issue. But did you ever wonder how bycatch is estimated and accounted for? This week, we sat down with Mitchell Masser, a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) certified North Pacific groundfish observer, to get a feel for the importance of the work of marine fisheries observers….
Crowdfunding Fisheries Science
Directly or indirectly, fisheries scientists (and nearly all scientists) are constantly thinking about where financial support will come from in order to continue important research. On one hand, a growing number of funding agencies now exist to support fisheries research, but on the other hand funding rates are often low (reported <25% for federal funds)…
4 “must get” items for freshman fisheries students
by Brandon Peoples Did your high school counselor have any good tips for you when you said you wanted to be a fish biologist? Probably not. In this week’s post, I clarify a few misconceptions you may have about what you’ll encounter in the next few years. If you want to be successful, here are…
Future of Fisheries: Mentor and be Mentored
In this fast-paced world of hectic schedules, impending deadlines, and increasingly long to-do lists, why would anyone want to take the time and effort to be a mentor?
Advice for freshman fisheries students: join AFS
by Brandon Peoples Let me start off by saying that I don’t claim to be “successful,” or that I’ve “made it” in the fisheries profession. In fact, I’m still a student—just beginning the fourth year of my PhD studies. However, I can say that I’ve been active in fisheries science long enough to notice a…
Playing the Role of a Fish Biologist for One Day
Guest Author: Sarah Martin When I hopped in the car at 6:30am to begin the trek North from Portland, OR to Longview, WA, I had no idea what to expect from the day. I knew I was going to help fish biologists at Abernathy Fish Technology Center with a stream sampling project but, aside from…
Are NOAA Administrators and President Obama giving up on a century of research?
By Ben Kornegay and Patrick Cooney Who warns you about approaching dangerous weather and hurricanes, produces incredible maps and charts of the seas and skies, conducts research for sustainable use and protection of ocean and coastal resources, and is responsible for improving stewardship of the environment? We will tell you who: Scientists with the National…
Earning a PhD: A Family Affair
by Jennifer Cochran Biederman, guest author As a little girl, my dad (a fish biologist and college professor) never read me the classic storybooks – you know, those ones bursting with bright, colorful illustrations and creative story-lines about cute hungry caterpillars or precocious talking cats. Instead, each night, I would curl up at the end…
Paid to go fishing
by Ed Kluender, Guest Blogger It’s happened to most of us in fisheries field research, whether loading up the shock boat at a ramp, stopped at a gas station for tater wedges and bad coffee, or on the river when you run into someone who’s paying a guide to be there for nearly the…
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